Tent construction



March 20, 1951 w. E. TROMBLEY TENT CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledNov. 8, 1947 INVENTOR mlliam E- Trombley v BY ATTORNEYS i Zvaww F24;

W. E. TROMBLEY TENT CONSTRUCTION March 20, 1951 Filed NOV. 8, 1947 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVE NTOR Tremble Wrh ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 20, 1951UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,545,535 TENT CONSTRUCTION William E.Trombley, Cleveland, Ohio Application November 8, 1947, Serial N 0.784,894

8 Claims. 1

This invention relates to tent construction and particularly toimprovements in the design and construction of a tent to render the samemore comfortable during occupancy without impair.- ing its portablenature.

Itis an object of the present invention to provide a tent constructionhaving. a simply designed door frame and door construction to facilitateaccess .to the interior of the tent.

Another object is to provide a tent construction including a door frameand door assembly which will afford light and air to the interior of thetent but which substantially excludes in.- sects and is capable ofbeingreadily stormproofed to keep out the weather.

A further object is to provide a tentconstruction including a door frameand door assembly which may be easily and quickly assembled anddisassembled .and which in its demounted 9 dition does not appreciablyincrease the bulk of the tent.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the followingdetailed description accompanied by the drawings, in which:

1 Figure 1 is a side elevation of a tent embody ing the presentinvention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary end view of the tent shown .in Fig. 1;

Fig.3 is a plan View of in Figs. v1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sefltional view ofa porthe tent constructiontion of the tent taken substantially on line 4-4 Fig. 5 is an enlargedfragmentary @levational view showing details of the door frameand doorconstruction;

, Fig. 6 is an enlar ed hor zontal s tion taken substa tially on line66. of Fi 1.;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View taken substantially online 'i-l of Fig. 5';

Fig. 8 is an enlar f men ry ection ta en substantially on line 8-8 ofFig. 1; and

Fig.9 is an enlarged fragmentary section'showing further details of thetent construction.

The dr wi g il strate a preferred form of the present invention asapplied to an umbrella type tent. However, it will be obvious that thefeatures of the presen improved tent co s ru tion may be applied withequally satisfactory results to other forms of tents or other similarstructures.

. Looking at the drawings, the tent briefly com prises a center pole Iwhich supports a roof ;por tion 2 and depending sidewalls .3. Near thetop of the center pole I a plurality of radially extending arms 4. aremounted to .engage and sup, port the roof portion 2 at the cornersthereof.=

This may be done by angularly directed end pore tions of the radial arms:1 extending through. grommets at the junction between the corners ofthe roof portion .2 and side walls 3. This construction assures adequatesupport .of the marginal portions of the tent roof to provide head roomon the interior of the tent. To fur:- thcr stabilize the tent andprevent sagging of the roof portion due to the weight of the dependingside walls, guy wires 5 may extend between the: ends of the radial arms4 and the top .of the;

center pole I.

It is customary for an umbrella type tent toi be formed in asubstantially pyramidal Q0119 fi uration with an opening in one of thslopin side walls to perm-it access. It is common prac-, rice to providea protective cover or awning 5. extending from the roof portion of thetent on. the side w e th oor openin i to b loc te This awning may besupported by substantially vertical poles held by guy wires 3. Generallythe door o ening i adapt d to be c v ed by a draped piece of somesuitable fabric such as f raminous ma er a t dm i t an ai but adapted toexclude insects, etc. v

.A ten construc ion mbody n the p esent invention obviates the use ofthe drape type of door covering, substituting therefor a simple butsturdy door frame and door construction which will provide aninsect-proof closure and will also permit the use of a simple butadequate fitorm closure in the event of inclement weather. I Briefly,the oor frame and door construe tion of the present invention comprise apair of} spaced upri h s, o of which i p o ally mou and has secured to ian u per and lower cross p e and a con c n up i ht to. provide a door.The spaced uprights are secured to the marginal portions of the tentside wall defining the door opening or extensions thereof and thepi-votally mounted upright acts both as a door frame member and as thehinged edge o f the door.

Due to the pyramidal configuration of the um brella type tent and thedesirability of having the door frame and door construction disposed ina substantiallly vertical position with the ibafstf of the door at theouter margin of the tent bot: tom, it is necessary to extend the tentside wall I outwardly for securement to the door frame to make asuitable enclosure.

u h rou hly triangularly shaped elements I 0, which :may best be .seenin Fig. 2, are secured to the marginal;

portions of the tent side wall 3 along both side edges of the dooropening through the tent side wall. It will be understood that whenapplied to a tent having a substantially straight side wall portion,these extensions are not required. To form a closed cover for the entryway formed by the triangularly shaped extensions Iii, a portion of theawning 6 may be secured to the top edge of the triangular extensionslil.

Along the vertical side edge of each of th extensions II], a tubular hemll may be formed for insertion of spaced uprights 52 and [3. The uprights 12 and [3 are provided at their extremities with pin extensionsor spikes M which at the lower ends of the uprights may be used toanchor them firmly to the ground on which the tent rests. To properlyposition thes uprights with respect to the main body of the tent, thepins I4 at the lower portions of the uprights l2 and 13 may pass throughapertures or grommets l5 disposed in the tent floor or other surfacecovering l6 spread on the ground on which the tent stands to provide aground covering within the tent (see Fig. 8). To hold the uprights l2and I3 in their proper spaced relationship at the top thereof, a crosspiece ll may be provided and the cross piece Il may be suitablyapertured so that it may be slid downwardly on the pins I4 extendingfrom the tops of the uprights I2 and I3, as may best be seen in Fig. 5.To properly enclose the door frame at the top thereof, the awning orroof extension 6 may overlie the cross piece H with the pins M of theuprights l2 and i3 passing through apertures or grommets in such awning.

If desired, the awning or roof extension may be 1 held against the crosspiece I! by a slat l8 apertured so that it may be received on the pinsl-i of the uprights I2 and I3. This will prevent wind getting under theawning or roof extension and lifting it from the pins M of the uprights.

It will be seen that the upright I3 is capable of pivotal movement aboutthe pins I4 at its upper and lower extremities and while this uprightacts as a portion of the door frame because of its pivotal movement, italso acts as the hinged edge of a suitable door. The door may be formedby a lower cross piece 20, an upper cross piece 2| and an upright member22 extending between Such cross pieces. The door ma be detachably heldtogether by thumb screws 23 threaded through the uprights l3 and 22 intothe ends of the lower and upper cross pieces 2% and 2i. To hold the doorframe rigid, it is desirable to utilize a diagonal bracing wire 24secured to the upright I3 near the top thereof and to the upright 22near the bottom thereof, as may be seen in Fig. l. The lower and uppercross pieces and 2| are of a length approximating the width of the doorframe opening so that when the door is in its closed position, theupright 22 will be approximately in line with and will abut the uprightl2, as will be seen in Fig. 6. To latch the door a hook 25 carried bythe upright 22 on the door may be detachably secured to an eye 26secured to the upright l2.

The door frame just described may be covered by any suitable doorcovering, preferably to provide for entrance of light and air but toexclude insects and the like. One desirable manner of securing a doorcovering to the door frame is illustrated in the drawings. As may beseen in Figs. 6 through 8, a layer 27 of cheesecloth or net material maybe secured to the tent wall in the region of the pivotally mountedupright 13, such as by sewing to the edge portion of the tri- 4angularly shaped wall extension H]. The material forming the doorcovering 21 may then be provided with tubular hem portions 28, which hemportions enclose the lower and upper cross pieces 29 and 2! of the doorfram and the connecting upright 22.

For purposes of storm protection in the event of rain, wind, etc., asuitable storm covering for the door may also be provided. Such coveringis indicated by the numeral 30 in the drawings and comprises a piece oftent fabric or other suitable material secured to the tent side wall orthe extension it extending longitudinall alongside the pivotally mountedupright 13. In fact, it is economical to fasten with a single line ofstitching the hem portion H of the tent side Wall extension iii, thedoor covering 2? and the storm covering or flap 30, such commonstitching being indicated in Fig. 6 by the numeral 3!. To hold the stormfiap 3a in position on the door, it may be provided with a plurality ofbuttonholes or fastener sockets adapted to be secured to studs or posts32 on the door upright 22, as is clearly illustrated in Fig. 9.

To provide for privacy the door opening may be closed to preventtransmission of light by a conventional roller shade 33 carried bybrackets 34 suitably secured to the door frame cross piece il, asillustrated in Fig. 7. Also, to further effect a weather-proof andinsect-proof seal when the door is in its closed position, a flap 35 ofcanvas or other weather-proof material may be secured to the bottom ofthe cross piece I1 and depend in overlapping relationship with the topof the door.

To avoid difficulties in closing the door due to rough or uneven ground,it is desirable to form the door so that it does not reach completely toth ground and thus the .door opening in the tent side wall is spacedabove the bottom of the tent, leaving a panel 36 of the tent side wall,which is shown in cross section in Fig. 8. To suitably seal the bottomof the door a flap 31 of canvas or other water-proof material may besecured to the bottom of the door such as by sewing to the tubular hem2B of the door covering 21, as shown in Fig. 8. To assist in maintainingthe door in its closed position it may be supported on the groundsurface, even though the bottom cross piece thereof is disposed at apoint above the ground level. This may be done by extending the upright22 of the door downwardly past its connection with the lower cross piece29. The diagonal brace 24 adequately holds the door so that adjacentsides thereof are substantially erpendicular.

Although the previously described construction provides a re;ativelysturdy and rigid door frame and door construction, the construction issuch that the component parts thereof may be readily disassembled forstorage or moving. All the pieces which are too long for convenienthandling may be formed in sections with joints to permit their assemblyinto the required length. Such constructions are not illustrated in thedrawing as they are well known in the manufacture of demountable tentsand the like.

The tent construction described is readily adapted for quick and easyassembly to provide an extremely desirable door frame and doorconstruction for the tent. With the tent erected the door frame maybereadily provided by inserting the uprights l2 and l3through the tubularhems ll of the triangularly shaped extensions [0 and anchoring the pinsl4 onthe-lower ends of these uprights through the grommets IS in thetent floor l6 into the ground, with the lower ends of the uprightsdisposed within the panel 36 across the'bottom of the door opening inthe tent side wall. Cross piece ll which carried the roller shade 38 andthe depending flap '35 may then .be mounted on the pins 14 at the upperends of the uprights l2 and i3. Then the pins M at the tops of theuprights I2 and 13 may be inserted through the grommets in the awning orroof extension 6 and the awning poles 7 may then be located and anchoredby guy wires 8. To complete the connectionof the roof structure to thedoorfr-ame, the-slat -l8 may be mounted on the pins l4 holding theawning or roof extension 6 against the cross piece H. To facilitate theassembly of the door frame and the roof structure'the cross piece ll maybe held to the upright [2 by a hook and eye mechanism indicated by'thenumeral 38 in Figs. 2 and 5. After assembly this connection will assistin stabilizing the door frame and maintaining the connection between thecross piece H and the upright I2.

The door may then be assembled by inserting the lower and upper crosspieces 2:: and 2! and the door upright 22 into the tubular hems 28 ofthedoor covering Ti and inserting the thumb screws 23 through theuprights I3 and 22 into the lower and upper cross pieces 2s and 2!. Ihediagonal wire brace 24 may then be secured to the uprights l3 and 22 tostabilize and brace the door. The door is now ready for use and it willbe noted that the storm flap 33 remains available alongside the uprightl3 ready to be stretched across the door and secured to the posts 32 onthe upright 22 to protect the door opening against the elements.

It will be noted that the guy wires 5 extending between the ends of theradial arms 4 and the center pole l cooperate with the door frame anddoor construction since they support and make more rigid the radial arms4, and thus the roof structure of the tent as a whole. This featurefacilitates properly supporting the door frame and better operation ofthe door. In addition it is frequently desirable to use the radial arms4 on the interior of the tent to support loads such as clothes hangersand the like, and when the guy wires 5 are utilized the problem ofsagging of the radial arms and thence the roof structure is obviated.Further, in Warm and humid weather the tent material tends to sag andsince in an umbrella tent the side walls depend from the roof structureand place a considerable load thereon, the use of the guy wires 5 isbeneficial in properly supporting the tent.

It will be understood that the foregoing description of preferredembodiments of the invention is for the purpose of explanation andillustration and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention asdescribed and claimed in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a tent having an opening in a side wall thereof, a door frame anddoor construction which comprises a pair of upright members, a crosspiece holding said upright members in spaced relationship, one of saiduprights being mounted for pivotal movement, a door including two crosspieces and an upright member detachably secured to said pivotallymounted upright, said pivotally mounted upright being detachably securedto portions of said tent side wall defining said opening, and a doorcovering detachably secured to said members making up said door.

2. A tent having an opening in a side wall thereof the vertical marginalportions of said opening being-hemmed, a pair of spaced upright memberseach insertable into one of the marginal hemmed portions of the sidewall, a cross piece connecting said uprights near the top thereof tohold the same in spaced relation, one of said uprights being pivotallymounted, said pivotally mounted upright having detachably securedthereto a pair of cross pieces and door upright to form a door, a doorcovering having one edge secured to the tent adjacent said pivotallymounted upright and its other side edges terminating in hem portionsenclosing portions of the members making up said door.

3. In a tent having an angularly disposed side wall with .an openingtherethrough at a point above the ground level, a door frame and doorconstruction which comprises a pair of roughly triangularly shapedpieces connected to said side wall along the side edges of said opening,a pair of spaced substantially vertical uprights connected to saidtriangular members to define a door frame, a cross piece detachablysecured to said uprights to hold the same in spacedrelation, a coverportion secured to said tent and to said triangularly shaped pieces andoverlying said door frame, one of said uprights being adapted forpivotal movement about its substantially vertical axis, a lower crosspiece detachably secured to said pivotally mounted upright andpositioned adjacent the bottom of said opening in said tent side wall toform the bottom edge of a door, an upper cross piece detachably securedto said pivotally mounted upright and positioned adjacent the crosspiece extending between said upright members to form the top edge of adoor, an upright member detachably secured to said lower and upper crosspieces to form the side edge of a door, and a door covering secured tosaid pivotally mounted upright and said cross pieces and upright makingup said door.

4. In an umbrella type tent having angularly disposed side wall portionsand an opening in one of said side walls, a door frame and doorconstruction which comprises a pair of roughly triangularly shapedextensions of said side wall along the side edges of said opening, apair of spaced substantially vertical uprights connected to saidextensions to define a door opening, a cross piece detachably secured tosaid uprights to hold the same in spaced relation, a cover portionsecured to said tent and to the top edges of said extensions andoverlying said cross piece, one of said uprights being adapted forpivotal movement about its substantially vertical axis, and a doormember detachably secured to said pivotally mounted upright. Y

5. In a tent having an opening in a side wall thereof, a pair of spacedupright members detachably secured to marginal portions of said sidewall adjacent said opening to define a door tachably secured to marginalportions of said side wall adjacent said opening to define a dooropening, one of said uprights having a pin extending at the top thereof,a cross piece extending between said upright members and mounted on saidpin to permit pivotal movement of said pin carrying upright, doormembers secured to said pin carrying upright and adapted to close thespace defined by said spaced upright members and said cross piece, and adoor covering having one edge secured to said tent along said pincarrying upright, said covering being securable to said door members.

'7. In a tent having an opening in a side wall thereof, a door frame anddoor construction which comprises a pair of spaced upright membersdetach-ably secured to marginal portions of said tent side wall adjacentsaid opening to define a door opening, a cross member extending betweenand detachably connected to said spaced upright members, one of saidupright members being mounted for pivotal movement about its verticalaxis, and door members including cross pieces and a door upright securedto said pivotally mounted upright member, whereby said pivotally mountedupright and said door members constitute a door swingable in position toclose said door opening,

8'. In a tent having an opening in a side wall thereof, a pair of spacedupright members detachably secured to marginal portions of said sidewall to define a door opening, one of said uprights having a pinextending at the top thereof, a cross piece extending between saidupright members and detachably engaging said pin to space said uprightmembers, said pin carrying upright member being mounted to pivot on itsvertical axis and a door upright member secured to said pivotallymounted upright in spaced relation thereto to form therewith a door,said door being swingable to close the door opening.

WILLIAM E. 'IROMBLEY. I

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record inithe file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Bittick Jan. 30, 1940

